New Delhi
Encyclopedia : N : NE : NEW : New Delhi
- This article is about the urban region which is the capital of India. For the metropolis see Delhi.
History
Capital of the Raj
Calcutta was the historic centre of the British presence in India, and effectively the capital of the British East India Company. However, Delhi had been the historic capital of much of the subcontinent for long historic periods. In particular, it had been the most recent capital of the Mughals. There remained an association with Imperial grandeur that the British Raj tried to use by holding several durbars for the Viceroy and visiting Royalty. In 1911, at the King-Emperor George V's Coronation Durbar, the announcement was made that the capital of the Raj was to be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.New Delhi was laid out to the south of the older city constructed by Shah Jahan, which is now often referred to as Old Delhi. However, New Delhi overlays many of the previous cities constructed there; hence it includes many monuments of previous cities, and constructions.
Much of New Delhi was planned by Sir Edwin Lutyens, who laid out a grandiose central administrative area as a testament to British imperial pretensions. Rajpath - then Kingsway - stretched from the War Memorial - now India Gate to the Viceroy's House - Rashtrapati Bhavan atop Raisina Hill. The scale, extravagance and magnificence of New Delhi was not unlike Washington, or Haussmann and his patron Napoleon III's Paris, both cities designed to awe the newcomer with the power of the central State. The Mughal garden of Rashtrapati Bhavan was designed with more regard to India's climate and design tradition, following a conversation with Constance Villiers-Stuart.
Tucked away are other clues to the worldview of the designers; Herbert Baker's Parliament House is barely visible from Rajpath, as deliberative democracy was not a central part of Britain's plans for India; in fact, the main entrance to the Central Secretariat North Block declares "Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty. It is a blessing which must be earned before it can be enjoyed"
Independent India and autonomy
After Independence a limited autonomy was conferred on the capital but it largely remained a chief commissioner's regime. In 1956 Delhi was converted into a Union territory and gradually the chief commissioner was replaced by a Lieutenant Governor. In 1991, the National Capital Territory Act was passed by the parliament and a system of diarchy was introduced under which, the elected Government was given wide powers; except law and order which remained with the Central Government. The actual enforcement of the legislation came in 1993.Government
As of 2005, the government structure of the New Delhi Municipal Council includes a chairperson, three members of New Delhi's Legislative Assembly, two members nominated by the Chief Minister of New Delhi and five members nominated by the central government. The current Chief Minister is Sheila Dikshit.Tourist attractions
Delhi is a spacious, open city that houses many government buildings and embassies, apart from places of historical interest. Notable attractions in New Delhi include the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the one-time imperial residence of the British Viceroys; the India Gate, a memorial raised in honour of the Indian soldiers martyred during the Afghan and subsequent wars; the Laxminarayan Temple, built by the Birlas, one of India's leading industrial families; The Swaminarayan Akshardham temple ;Humayun's Tomb; the Purana Quila, built by Humayun, with later-day modifications by Sher Shah Suri; Tughlaqabad, Delhi's most colossal and awesome fort; Qutab Minar, built by Qutb-ud-din Aybak of the Slave Dynasty; and the lotus-shaped Bahá'í House of Worship.
See also
- Delhi for more information on the city's history, demographics, economy and education
- Tourist attractions in Delhi
- Markets in Delhi
- National capital territory
- Law and Order in Delhi: Jessica Lal Priyadarshini Mattoo 1984 Anti-Sikh riots
- 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings
Sister cities
Chicago, Illinois, USAWashington D.C., USA
Belgrade, Serbia
Personalities associated with Delhi
- Pervez Musharraf - President of Pakistan was born in New Delhi but moved to Pakistan after its inception and later became President.
- Sandeep Marwah - President of the Asian Academy of Film & Television and Marwah Studios.
External links
- [New Delhi Municipal Council]
- [InteractiveMap of Delhi]
- [New Delhi Yellowpages]
- [New Delhi Hotels]
- [Website on Delhi]
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| New Delhi | Old Delhi | Delhi Cantonment | |
| Satellite cities: Gurgaon | Noida | Faridabad | Ghaziabad | |
| State and Union Territory capitals of India |
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Agartala • Aizawl • Bangalore • Bhopal • Bhubaneswar • Chandigarh • Chennai (Madras) • Daman • Dehradun • Delhi • Dispur • Gandhinagar • Gangtok • Hyderabad • Imphal • Itanagar • Jaipur • Kavaratti • Kohima • Kolkata (Calcutta) • Lucknow • Mumbai (Bombay) • Panaji • Patna • Pondicherry • Port Blair • Raipur • Ranchi • Shillong • Shimla • Silvassa • Srinagar • Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)
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